How to pronounce The /g/ as in GET /g/ in American English

The only difference is your vocal cords. Both sounds are made by pressing the back of your tongue against the roof of your mouth to block the air. But for the /k/ in coat, your throat is quiet and the release is just a crisp puff of air. For the /g/ in goat, your vocal cords turn on to power the sound, though the heavy buzzing usually only kicks in right as you release the air. If you put two fingers on your throat, you should feel a buzz for /g/ and nothing for /k/.

The letter G usually makes the hard /g/ sound before the vowels A, O, and U, like in game, go, and gum. It typically makes the soft /dʒ/ sound (like a J) before E, I, and Y, like in gem, giant, and gym. But because English is tricky, there are extremely common exceptions to this rule. Words like get, give, and girl all use the hard /g/ sound despite being followed by an E or I.

Americans rarely drop the /g/ entirely, but we do stop it without releasing the air. If you say dog with over-enunciated textbook pronunciation, you'll hear a heavy release click or even a slight 'uh' sound at the end: DAWG-uh. In casual conversation the tongue still goes up to make the /g/ shape, but it just stays there. The voicing stops in your throat, and you get a clipped, heavy ending instead of a clean release. This is called a stop non-release, and it's a big part of why fluent American speech doesn't sound bouncy or over-articulated.